children helicoptered to school
March 2010
This year again, due to heavy snowfall in the Zanskar region, three of our sponsored children have been helicoptered to school.
Unfortunately, due to the isolation of the area in which these children live, catching a bus is simply not an option as villages and all roads in and out of the region are snowed in for 6-8 months a year.
The choices available for the children of Zanskar are either to wait until the snow melts or to set off down the Chadar, the frozen ice river which winds its way through the ice walled valleys shadowing the Indus river.
The helicopter service which operates from Padum in Zanksar to Kargil (Jammu and Kashmir) has been down for some weeks and the children missed the first few weeks of school.
With help on the ground from our Swiss colleague Pierre Odier, the children were safely transported by helicopter last week to re-join their class mates.
Many thanks to Pierre Odier, Phuntsok Tashi and Namgyal for making this happen.
April 2009
In slightly different circumstances than usual, the Lille Fro Foundation enrolled a further six children in school in March this year.
While the admission for the new school year begins in November each year, due to the highly destitute circumstances in which these children were living, we were granted the opportunity to admit them at the school mid-term despite a lack of vacancies.
The difficulty was getting them there. With all access in and out of the Zanskar Valley blocked due to heavy snowfall, our only alternative was to airlift the children by helicopter from the air base in Zanskar to Leh.
We understand the children have now recovered from the shock of a helicopter ride and are very much settled and enjoying their new school.
We would like to say a very special thank you to both:
- Mr Eshey Tundup, Principal of the Lamdon Model School, Leh
- Mr Punchok Tashi, Executive Councillor and his team, both on the ground and in the air, for assisting with logistics and ensuring the children's safe arrival in Leh.